JJ Hickson

Hickson attended Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia. In the class of 2007, he was ranked as the No. 10 overall recruit and No. 2 power forward by Rivals.com and as the No. 13 overall and the No. 3 power forward by Scout.com. In 2005–06, Hickson took Wheeler High to the 5A Final Four. As a senior in 2006–07, he averaged 25.9 points, 13.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game as he earned McDonald's All-American honors.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jj_hickson/bio/?ls=iref:playerCompleteBioLink|title=JJ Hickson bio|work=NBA.com|access-date=February 28, 2016}}

Hickson played one season of college basketball for NC State in 2007–08. In his first game as a freshman, Hickson scored 31 points, making all 12 of his attempted field goals against William & Mary, setting an NCAA Division I record for field goal percentage (minimum 12 makes) by a player in his first career game.{{cite web|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2012/DI.pdf|title=2011–12 NCAA Men's Basketball Records – Division I, p.2 – Individual Records|work=NCAA.org|access-date=March 20, 2012}} Hickson was named ACC Rookie of the Week on three occasions, scored 20 or more points seven times and registered 10 double-doubles. He set an ACC single-game freshman record by pulling down a career-high 23 rebounds and also added 13 points and four blocked shots versus Clemson. Hickson scored a career-high 33 points on 10–of–11 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds against Western Carolina University, and put up 27 points and 14 rebounds against Miami in the first round of the ACC tournament.

For the season, he averaged 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds (leading all freshmen) while shooting 59% from the field. He was selected to the All-Freshman team in the ACC, and an honorable mention for All-ACC.

{{NBA player statistics start}}

|-

| align="left" | 2007–08

| align="left" | NC State

| 31 || 31 || 28.7 || .591 || .000 || .677 || 8.5 || 1.0 || 0.7 || 1.5 || 14.8

|}

Hickson was selected with 19th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers.{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/nba/longterm/2008/round1.html|title=Round 1 of the 2008 NBA Draft|work=WashingtonPost.com|access-date=February 28, 2016}} On July 10, 2008, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Cavaliers.{{cite web|url=http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/190883/Cavaliers-Sign-First-Round-Pick-JJ-Hickson|title=Cavaliers Sign First Round Pick J.J. Hickson|work=RealGM.com|date=July 10, 2008|access-date=March 20, 2012}} He went on to score four points in his NBA debut against the Charlotte Bobcats, making one field goal and two free throws. On November 26, 2008, he had career-highs with 14 points, six rebounds and four blocks against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hickson surpassed his career-high by grabbing seven rebounds on January 13, 2009, against the Memphis Grizzlies. Then on February 24, 2009, he surpassed his previous career-high of 7 rebounds to 9 rebounds against the Grizzlies.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hicksjj01/gamelog/2009/|title=J.J. Hickson 2008–09 Game Log|work=Basketball-Reference.com|access-date=March 20, 2012}}

On October 26, 2009, the Cavaliers exercised their third-year team option on Hickson's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2010–11 season.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/hickson_091026.html|title=Cavaliers Exercise Third-Year Option on J.J. Hickson|work=NBA.com|date=October 26, 2009|access-date=March 20, 2012}} On January 27, 2010, Hickson set a new career-high in scoring with 23 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=300127005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511144759/http://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=300127005|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 11, 2017|title=Cavs win sixth straight behind Hickson's career-best 23|work=ESPN.com|date=January 28, 2010|access-date=February 28, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hicksjj01/gamelog/2010/|title=J.J. Hickson 2009–10 Game Log|work=Basketball-Reference.com|access-date=March 20, 2012}}

On October 23, 2010, the Cavaliers exercised their fourth-year team option on Hickson's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2011–12 season.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/hickson_101023.html|title=Cavaliers Exercise Fourth-Year Option on J.J. Hickson|work=NBA.com|date=October 23, 2010|access-date=March 20, 2012}} On November 2, 2010, Hickson had a career-high 31 points in a losing effort to the Atlanta Hawks. On January 22, Hickson grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds, including a career-high 11 offensive rebounds, against the Chicago Bulls.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/games/20110122/CLECHI/gameinfo.html|title=Cavaliers-Bulls notebook loss|work=NBA.com|date=January 22, 2011|access-date=March 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110125131252/http://www.nba.com/games/20110122/CLECHI/gameinfo.html|archive-date=January 25, 2011|url-status=dead}} On February 25, he set a career high of five blocks in a victory over the New York Knicks.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/games/20110225/NYKCLE/gameinfo.html|title=Knicks-Cavaliers notebook|work=NBA.com|date=February 26, 2011|access-date=March 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309131413/http://www.nba.com/games/20110225/NYKCLE/gameinfo.html|archive-date=March 9, 2014|url-status=dead}}

On June 30, 2011, Hickson was traded to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Omri Casspi and Sacramento's protected first-round pick in the 2012 NBA draft.{{cite web|last=Stein|first=Marc|title=Cavaliers Obtain Omri Casspi from Kings|date=June 30, 2011|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=6722764|work=ESPN.com|access-date=July 1, 2011}}

On October 21, 2011, Hickson signed with Bnei HaSharon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League for the duration of the NBA lockout.{{cite web|url=http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/israel/88726/jj-hickson-agreed-to-terms-with-bnei-hasharon.html|title=JJ Hickson agreed to terms with Bnei Hasharon|work=Sportando.com|date=October 21, 2011|access-date=October 21, 2011}} After making his lone appearance for Bnei on October 30, Hickson was released by the club on November 5.{{cite web|url=http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/israel/88866/bnei-hasharon-released-jj-hickson.html|title=Bnei Hasharon released JJ Hickson|work=Sportando.com|date=November 5, 2011|access-date=November 5, 2011}}{{cite web|first=Allon|last=Sinai|url=http://www.jpost.com/Sports/Hasharons-Hickson-packs-his-bags-Mac-TA-visits-Ashdod|title=Hasharon's Hickson packs his bags; Mac TA visits Ashdod|work=JPost.com|date=November 5, 2011|access-date=November 5, 2011}} In December 2011, following the conclusion of the lockout, he joined the Sacramento Kings. He went on to play 35 games for Sacramento in 2011–12 before he was waived by the franchise on March 19, 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/2012/news/03/19/kings-hickson.ap/index.html|title=Kings waive forward J.J. Hickson|work=NBA.com|date=March 19, 2012|access-date=March 20, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320154416/http://www.nba.com/2012/news/03/19/kings-hickson.ap/index.html|archive-date=March 20, 2012}}

On March 21, 2012, Hickson was claimed off waivers by the Portland Trail Blazers.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/7719952/portland-trail-blazers-claim-jj-hickson-waivers-sacramento-kings|title=Blazers claim forward J.J. Hickson|work=ESPN.com|date=March 21, 2012|access-date=March 21, 2012}}

On July 13, 2012, Hickson re-signed with the Trail Blazers to a one-year deal.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/8164865/portland-trail-blazers-sign-jj-hickson-joel-freeland-damian-lillard-meyers-leonard|title=Blazers sign J.J. Hickson, draft picks|work=ESPN.com|date=July 13, 2012|access-date=July 13, 2012}} In 2012–13, he averaged a career-high 10.4 rebounds, as well as 12.7 points per game.{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hicksjj01/gamelog/2013/|title=J.J. Hickson 2012–13 Game Log|work=Basketball-Reference.com|access-date=February 28, 2016}}

On July 11, 2013, Hickson signed with the Denver Nuggets.{{cite web|first=Aaron|last=Lopez|url=http://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/denver-nuggets-sign-free-agent-forward-jj-hickson|title=Denver Nuggets Sign Free-Agent Forward J.J. Hickson|work=NBA.com|date=July 11, 2013|access-date=July 11, 2013}} On February 25, 2014, Hickson recorded 16 points and a career-high 25 rebounds in a 95–100 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=400489723|title=Damian Lillard scores 31, hits clutch shots late to key Portland|work=ESPN.com|date=February 26, 2014|access-date=February 26, 2014}} On March 22, 2014, it was announced that Hickson would miss the rest of the season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the March 21 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.{{cite web|first=Aaron|last=Lopez|url=http://www.nba.com/nuggets/denver-nuggets-f-jj-hickson-has-torn-acl|title=Denver Nuggets F J.J. Hickson Has Torn ACL|work=NBA.com|date=March 22, 2014|access-date=March 22, 2014}}

On September 17, 2014, Hickson was suspended by the NBA for the first five games of the 2014–15 season for violating the NBA's anti-drug policy.{{cite web|first=Christopher|last=Dempsey|url=http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_26552860/nuggets-f-j-j-hickson-suspended-five-games|title=Nuggets' J.J. Hickson suspended five games for violating NBA anti-drug policy|work=DenverPost.com|date=September 17, 2014|access-date=September 17, 2014}}

On February 19, 2016, Hickson was waived by the Nuggets.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/nuggets-waive-hickson-novak-021916|title=Nuggets Waive J.J. Hickson and Steve Novak|work=NBA.com|date=February 19, 2016|access-date=February 19, 2016}}

On February 25, 2016, Hickson signed with the Washington Wizards.{{cite web|url=http://wizardstoday.monumentalnetwork.com/2016/02/25/wizards-sign-jj-hickson|title=WIZARDS SIGN J.J. HICKSON|work=MonumentalNetwork.com|date=February 25, 2016|access-date=February 25, 2016}} Three days later, he made his debut with the Wizards in a 113–99 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, recording two points and two rebounds in six minutes off the bench.{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/games/20160228/CLEWAS/gameinfo.html|title=Smith calls out Cavs, LeBron sits for 113–99 loss at Wizards|work=NBA.com|date=February 28, 2016|access-date=February 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302045126/http://www.nba.com/games/20160228/CLEWAS/gameinfo.html|archive-date=March 2, 2016|url-status=dead}}

On August 20, 2016, Hickson signed with the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association.{{cite web|url=http://www.asia-basket.com/China/news/459643/Fujian-inks-J.J.-Hickson|title=Fujian inks J.J. Hickson|work=Asia-Basket.com|date=August 20, 2016|access-date=October 2, 2016}}

On August 11, 2017, Hickson signed with Jiangsu Tongxi of the Chinese Basketball Association.{{cite news|title=JJ Hickson: Signs deal to remain in China|url=https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/basketball/news/jj-hickson-signs-deal-to-remain-in-china/|access-date=August 12, 2017|work=cbssports.com|date=August 11, 2017}}

On April 2, 2018, Hickson signed with Champville SC of the Lebanese Basketball Federation.{{cite news|title=Former Cavs big man J.J. Hickson signed by Lebanese squad|url=https://247sports.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/article/former-cleveland-cavaliers-big-man-jj-hickson-signed-by-lebanese-squad-116947955/|access-date=6 April 2018|agency=247Sports}}

Hickson was arrested after the season's ending along with two other persons and charged with burglary, physical assault and armed robbery with a knife of a man from Coweta County, Georgia.[https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23821199/ex-nba-player-jj-hickson-charged-robbery Ex-NBA player J.J. Hickson charged with armed robbery]

On May 8, 2019, Leones de Ponce announced that they had signed Hickson.{{cite web|url=https://www.bsnpr.com/noticias/detalles.asp?r=+18763|title=Leones firman a J.J. Hickson|language=ES|date=May 8, 2019|website=bsnpr.com|access-date=May 8, 2019}}

{{NBA player statistics legend}}

{{NBA player statistics start}}

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2008}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland

| 62 || 0 || 11.4 || .515 || .000 || .672 || 2.7 || .1 || .2 || .5 || 4.0

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2009}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland

| 81 || 73 || 20.9 || .554 || .000 || .681 || 4.9 || .5 || .4 || .5 || 8.5

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2010}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland

| 80 || 66 || 28.2 || .458 || .000 || .673 || 8.7 || 1.1 || .6 || .7 || 13.8

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2011}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento

| 35 || 9 || 18.4 || .370 || .000 || .638 || 5.1 || .6 || .5 || .5 || 4.7

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2011}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Portland

| 19 || 10 || 31.6 || .543 || .000 || .645 || 8.3 || 1.2 || .6 || .9 || 15.1

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2012}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Portland

| 80 || 80 || 29.0 || .562 || .000 || .679 || 10.4 || 1.1 || .6 || .6 || 12.7

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2013}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Denver

| 69 || 52 || 26.9 || .508 || .000 || .517 || 9.2 || 1.4 || .7 || .7 || 11.8

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2014}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Denver

| 73 || 8 || 19.3 || .475 || .000 || .577 || 6.2 || .8 || .5 || .5 || 7.6

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2015}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Denver

| 20 || 9 || 15.3 || .505 || .000 || .458 || 4.4 || .8 || .5 || .6 || 6.9

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|2015}}

| style="text-align:left;"| Washington

| 15 || 0 || 8.7 || .543 || .000 || .432 || 3.0 || .5 || .3 || .1 || 4.6

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career

| 534 || 307 || 22.3 || .505 || .000 || .617 || 6.8 || .8 || .5 || .6 || 9.5

{{s-end}}

{{NBA player statistics start}}

|-

| style="text-align:left;"| 2010

| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland

| 11 || 0 || 7.2 || .626 || .000 || .688 || .8 || .1 || .0 || .0 || 3.5

|- class="sortbottom"

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career

| 11 || 0 || 7.2 || .626 || .000 || .688 || .8 || .1 || .0 || .0 || 3.5

{{s-end}}

Hickson was arrested on June 16, 2018, in connection with a home invasion and robbery in the greater Atlanta area.{{Cite web |date=2018-06-16 |title=Former NBA player J.J. Hickson arrested, charged with armed robbery |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/former-nba-player-j-j-hickson-arrested-charged-with-armed-robbery |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=NBC Sports |language=en-US}}

• List of North Carolina State University people

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Commons category|J.J. Hickson}}

{{basketballstats|nba=201581|bbr=h/hicksjj01}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140116093241/http://www.gopack.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/jj_hickson_335260.html NC State bio]

{{2008 NBA draft}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickson, JJ}}

Category:1988 births

Category:Living people

Category:American expatriate basketball people in China

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Israel

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Lebanon

Category:American men's basketball players

Category:Basketball players from Atlanta

Category:Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks

Category:Cleveland Cavaliers players

Category:Denver Nuggets players

Category:Fujian Sturgeons players

Category:Nanjing Monkey Kings players

Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans

Category:NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players

Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)

Category:Portland Trail Blazers players

Category:Power forwards

Category:Sacramento Kings players

Category:Washington Wizards players